Mercedes Plotting Ferrari 488 Fighter

Recently, Mercedes has been spewing out AMG badged cars like they’re going out of style. But is this just a way of making up for its lack of a top range supercar? Okay, so the Tri-Star does have a flagship performance car that has taken the shape of the AMG GT, but that’s just a Porsche 911 fighter. Mercedes lacks an honest to god supercar, one with gullwing or butterfly doors like the SLS AMG or SLR McLaren. Rumors have been tossed back and forth about Mercedes building a legitimate competitor to the McLaren 675LT or even the Ferrari 488 GTB, but they mean nothing.

Except maybe they do now. Not only is AMG boss Tobias Moers talking about the possibility of an AMG supercar again, but this time he isn’t speaking in intentionally vague code about it. Autocar caught up with the man and coaxed a few words out of him. “My personal thinking is that we are now at a level where we could support another dedicated AMG model. The car would be totally different to the GT,” said Moers. This could mean that the car will get a mid-engine setup with a hybrid system derived from Mercedes’ successful F1 cars. However we shouldn't celebrate a hypothetical Porsche 918 fighter just yet. According to Moers, despite the future AMG getting a mid-engine hybrid setup, Mercedes doesn’t want to compete in the hypercar bracket.

Instead, this car would end up closer to a BMW i8 with performance like that of a Ferrari 488 GTB. The car would be sold in higher numbers and challenge Ferrari and McLaren with a technologically advanced alternative to the supercar. Expect this AMG to come with an energy-dense V6 for added range. This car would be a game changer because it could push the boundaries of technology that is currently offered in the supercar range and would open a completely new automotive segment, something that Mercedes has plenty of experience doing. Plans for the car, which will likely carry a carbon fiber monocoque and other weight savings measures seen in the i8, are expected to be approved this year with the car appearing in 2019.